Although the government plans to sign a heads of agreement “any day now” for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in The Bahamas, no such plant would operate without the necessary legislation being in place, according to Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Leslie Miller.
Minister Miller, who was a guest on the Love 97 programme “Jones and Company” which aired on Sunday, assured that the government was adequately addressing all LNG-related concerns.
He was asked to respond to comments made recently by Ambassador to the Environment Keod Smith, who said he was concerned that the government was negotiating an agreement with the AES Corporation in the absence of regulations.
Minister Miller, however, said Mr. Smith knows that the government plans to put the necessary regulations in place, and bring a bill to parliament.
“I could appreciate the viewpoint that has been expressed by Mr. Smith,” Minister Miller said, however.
“Dr. [Marcus] Bethel, who is the one responsible for the environment in The Bahamas ﾖ thatﾒs who I listen to and thatﾒs where the expertise comes from, his ministry. The government is now in dialogue with the state of Floridaﾅin putting in place the necessary apparatus to enable us [to formulate regulation].”
He added, ” the time that plant is up and running all of the safeguards will be in place, the respective acts will also be in place, and Mr. Smith knows this.”
Minister Miller also said the government has an LNG policy that it will articulate.
“Itﾒs a policy really that will govern the incorporation of LNG regasification terminals in The Bahamas, and energy in general. It has just been finalized and will be made public very shortly,” he said.
Asked by the showﾒs host, Wendall Jones, whether the government has satisfied all of the concerns of local environmentalists, Minister Miller said he does not think the government would ever be able to satisfy the so-called concerns of people who are just opposed to industrialization.
“I call them arm-chair environmentalists,” he said, “not in a derogatory manner, but in the sense that the Government of The Bahamas went out and got the best available companies that do EIAs in the world. There are about five of them and three of those companies have worked on [the AES] project.”
Minister Miller said the companies have advised that it is feasible to have an LNG regasification terminal operating in The Bahamas in a safe and sustainable manner that would not adversely affect the environment. He stressed that this determination was “a scientific fact.”
He stressed again that LNG would diversify the economy and said it has also gotten the stamp of approval from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Initially, the AES LNG project is expected to create 650 jobs, according to Minister Miller, who said 400 of those jobs would be reserved for Bahamians, and the other 250 for foreign experts.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
